Peter Metcalf talks about the Conservative MP elections over the years and their "progressive" campaigns, such as the "Save the Valley" campaign.

Stevenage Museum

Transcript:

Peter: There was a conservative MP up until 1964, a good man, a guy called Martin Madden

Barbara: He was very good.

Peter: He was a good, a good man, and he was replaced by Shirley Williams who was MP from 1964 to ’79, and then there were two conservative MPs and then Barbara Follett, who now lives, well, then and now, lives in Knebworth, and um, then she didn’t stand last time in 2010, and was replaced by the current conservative Mr McPartland. The interesting thing is that even though the town elect conservative MPs it never seems very enthusiastic- I think it’s really quite happy with the council as the councils always been…

Barbara: You’d better touch wood- not too sure about this year!

Peter: …is fairly progressive and has tried to do good things, you know, you always get somebody complaining, I can remember rows about things in public, you know, but its supported progressive ideas, for example, prime example of course if the Valley Park, the part in the Valley, which was which that’s one of the issues the Corporation had a row with the Borough Council about because the Corporation wanted to build a road, not through the Valley, but along the edge of it. I can’t remember the number of the road, I think it was called Road Nine, I think and the Borough Council campaigned against it and so did ordinary citizens. There was a, I don’t know, Save the Valley campaign or something. And they were right you know and it’s been a great success. And so I think fundamentally they think the Borough Council has done, and is doing a reasonably good job.

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